Game Review

Gyrostarr Review

Will you master the warp gate or lose it all in this technoplasma fuelled shooter?

There has been no shortage of hype surrounding the release of High Voltage's new Tempest-style shooter Gyrostarr. The only problem with having that kind of hype is that the game ultimately has to attempt to live up to it. After complaints of Star Soldier R, the first shooter on WiiWare, being too short and slightly unfulfilling, many shooter fans have placed a lot of hope in Gyrostarr. The game does offer up some gorgeous visuals, a techno-style soundtrack, and some intense shooting action, but is it enough to satisfy fans who've been longing for a more compelling shooter experience to come to WiiWare?

In Gyrostarr, you take control of a space fighter and fly at breakneck speeds down narrow tracks that are overflowing with enemy ships trying to stop you. Along the way, you'll have to pick up energy pods in order to power up the warp gate that's waiting for you at the end of the track. If you don’t manage to get enough energy to power up the gate, then you will be treated to a nice visual display of your ship crashing head first into a closed warp gate at mach speed. Ouch!

To ensure that you don’t meet such a fate you’ll need to pick up some power-ups which you can run into as they appear on the track, or grab using your ship's grappling hook. These power-ups can add multiple and rapid fire capabilities to your ship and some will even make you invincible to enemy attacks for a short period of time. In addition to this you also have a small inventory of smart bombs that will destroy every enemy currently on the track. As the game progresses, the tracks become more cluttered with enemy ships and there are fewer chances to grab the energy pods.

The gameplay is pretty standard as far as shooters go. You can move left and right around the track and use your cannon fire to take out enemy ships that stand in your way. To make things a bit easier, your ship comes equipped with a grappling hook that you can shoot out by pressing up or down on the D-pad or "L" stick. This allows you to grab power-ups and energy pods without having to take your thumb off of the fire button. The game also allows for the use of several different controller options including the Wii Remote held sideways, the Nunchuk, or the Classic Controller. There is even an option called "Paired Control" where one person can use the Wii Remote and another player can use the attached Nunchuk or Classic Controller. To add to this comprehensive array of controller options, you can choose to use the "Motion Controls" which allow your ship to be moved around by tilting the Wiimote or Nunchuk, although this feels more like a novelty than a serious alternative form of control. The motion controls make manoeuvring the ship feel too loose and don't offer the precision control needed to successfully take down the barrage of enemy fighters. It's a fun way to control the game, but not terribly practical.

The play control in Gyrostarr is very responsive no matter which controller you choose. Making constant use of the grappling hook for grabbing energy pods is very intuitive and easy to execute, even while moving your ship around the intense tracks. If you manage to fill up your energy meter to full capacity before you reach the warp gate, you'll be treated to a bonus level. The bonus levels don't offer up much in the way of gameplay however; you basically fly around a track with no other ships at knee-jerk speeds collecting as many energy pods as you can manage. You can carry over the surplus energy to the next level if you manage to acquire enough during the bonus level.

The lack of a boss fight and the unimaginative bonus levels tend to make the game feel a bit repetitive after you've played for a long period of time, but the action becomes more intense and challenging as the game progresses, though it never really changes much. The omission of online co-op modes and online scoreboards doesn't help.

Gyrostarr offers up to four player simultaneous play, which is handy if you have some buddies hanging around. This basically pits up to four players on the same track in a no-holds-barred shootout. You can even get your ships in line with each other to make use of a charged-up power shot. Although the gameplay is essentially cooperative, each player has their own colour-coded score so they can keep track of their current tally of points. It might not seem like much, but this multi-player mode does add a bit of intensity, especially if you can find three additional players to participate, and it at least offers some additional variety to the overall experience.

The visuals are outstanding on the whole. The vivid colours and transparency effects give the game a very shiny and polished look. There is also a good sense of speed, especially on some of the more intense bonus tracks. Some of these seizure-inducing levels move so fast it's hard for your eyes to even keep up with them. The ships are quite detailed and you can choose a colour to suit your particular preference. The scrolling, even at some of the blinding speeds, remains fairly smooth. There are a few instances where you might notice some choppiness here and there, but the overall frame rate remains fairly consistent.

Over the years, techno music has often been used in shooting games, and Gyrostarr is no exception. If you like bands like the Prodigy then you’ll be right at home here. The pulsing beats fit in with the intense speed and action quite well, but there's very little variety between the different tunes and after a while they all begin to sound the same. There are plenty of bass-busting explosions, not to mention the alluring female voice you'll hear quite often, to cover up any inadequacies found throughout the pulsing musical score. The game supports Dolby Pro-Logic II and does a very accurate job of executing the intense surround sound.

Conclusion

Although Gyrostarr overflows with gorgeous eye candy, the gameplay can get repetitive after a short time which brings the experience down a notch or two and will likely leave shooter fans once again feeling a bit short-changed. There is a lot of potential for the graphics engine, and at the generous price of 700 Wii Points, it's hard to complain too much about what you get for your money. If you're a shooter fan and you don't demand a lot of variety in your gaming experience, Gyrostarr is a game you are likely to enjoy. However if you are one of those gamers who felt disappointed with the lack of substance in Star Soldier R, you will probably feel the same about Gyrostarr on the whole despite all the good things it has going for it.

Game Trailer

User Comments (142)

Yeah there isn't much which Corbie doesn't know about shooters, He was weaned on Space Invaders and graduated in Las Vegas playing R-Type!

I argee totally with the thoughts in this review. Whilst Gyrostarr is fun for a time, it does get repetitive after a short while. Having said that I will probably keep going back to it until I have mastered all 50 warp gates. It is ideal for a quick pick up and play blast.

Sounds like 700 points may be the perfect score for this one then...Might pick it up if I bother getting more points (I got pissed off at Ninty and blew all my points in reserve to teach them a lesson )One thing I gotta ask though, can you save or is it a 'real arcade experience' like Sonic the Hedgehog? (Where you start from the start each time you play) If so, how long do levels take to complete?

There are two shooters on the VC that are two of the best ever created. Lords of Thunder and Gate of Thunder. If you want to be introduced to the shmup genre, there aren't two better games out there. In fact, those two are two of my top 3 all-time favorite shooters.

I'm not sure I agree with some of these reviews. You gave Star Soldier R a 7/10 also and it has one single level with a 5 minute time limit. Talk about no substance. Oh and can someone explain to me how POP should deserve an 8/10 ? Are you kidding me? All you do is pop bubbles. I'll probably go ahead and get Gyrostarr but there are a few other wii ware games that got the same score which really puzzles me.

Pop deserves the 8 that was given. People like you pass it off too quickly as overly-simple. Actually play the game before you start passing judgments, people. Geez.

As for SSR, in my eyes, it deserves an 8 but I can see why it got a 7. It has significant substance and people need to realize that the purpose of the game is to continuously aim to beat your high-score to improve your Rank in the World/Your Region. This isn't a typical story-based game.

@Corbie: That's very odd... What's the point in having scores then? Unless there's a FINAL SCORE obtained at the end like a Career? Or maybe it IS like a genuine Arcade experience: Scores for each stage until you stop. When you restart, you must start over again. But then what about the scores? This is very puzzling... Maybe things will be revealed upon reaching Level 50. That's how I see everything coming together to give you a total score at the end, giving you a Ranking in the high-Scores Table. OR, maybe you need to play long enough to rack up enough points to beat one of the scores on the table. Then, when you stop, your name gets added...

Star Soldier R is similar in style to Gyrostarr. Gyrostarr is still basically like the same level over and over again. It throws in some different colors and a few more enemies, but it's still the exact same thing. I like both games. They're both quite good. That being said, I'd take Star Soldier R over Gyrostarr any day. But I'm a huge PC Engine fan, so I am a bit biased.

@KnucklesSonic - I found the entire save/scoreboard experience a bit odd. It does save your progress, at least which levels you've completed, but that's about it. No Mii support and it doesn't even use the name on your Wii. Just the old arcade-style 3 initials.

I'm not really big on games where the main focus is beating a high score.POP and Star Soldier R seem a little too flat and with little substance. I usually like a game with more depth. They do look nice but it's not enough to keep me interested. Gyrostarr will have to do I guess. Until something absolutely stellar comes out for Wii ware.

By stellar I hope you're referring to the Space Shooters genre alone and not WiiWare in general because there ARE stellar titles on the service already.

@Corbie: Mii Support isn't everything, just like Online Play. I don't think it would have fit at all anyways. The arcade-style initials I'm aware of already. I use KS8. Heh.

And yep, SSR is similar to Gyrostarr in a few ways. Both are good in their own ways. I can't decide which one is "better" overall since, as I said, they're both great game sin their own way.

I think too, people expected too much from Gyrostarr after being disappointed by SSR (myself NOT included) so that probably affected the way people percieve Gyrostarr as a whole. Anyway, I just hope I can find out how I can get my high-scores on the table for goodness sake. High-scores mean SO much to me in space shooters, especially after SSR. (Protothea would NEVER captivate me simply because there is no scoring system to speak of, despite the fact that it looks mildly fun.)

@Corbie - Whoa, what a coincidence Corbie, I use ACE all the time for shoot'em ups games! But for first person shooting games, like Halo 3, I use That_Guy. Its very funny when you see on the screen "You got killed by That_Guy" or "That_guy got shot by ___".

Things that would have made this game amazing:-Bosses every 5 levels or so (less levels, maybe 30)-Personal high score board, and national high score board (updated daily through wifi)-along with the "story mode" (with the bosses), also have an option for a trail, of how the game is now, without bonus levels, and only 10 levels. Starting at one, and having level 10 being extremely difficult. The objective is to try and reach the highest score.. while only having to play through 10 levels. So it doesn't feel like it takes forever.

Yah, the fun is a lot greater.. with the fact that you see everyone's score at the end of each level. so it actually feels like you are trying to compete for items like the plasma stuff.. trying to grapple before your friends.

True story. When I first got on the internet, it was super-hard to get accounts with the username "ace". So instead I switched to "theace", thereby bypassing everyone who used that name as well as making my username a little more unique.

7/10 is still a reason to buy it. He didn't bash the gameplay, just the fact that you do the same thing every level. Every level is still very fun, and although I don't think the music is super great, it mixes with the gameplay very well. There's really nothing bad to say about the same except that it does indeed get a little repetitive. But that doesn't mean it's not fun; it's a great game, and I do suggest everyone who has 700 points to go ahead and use them on this.

I always use the initials "400", because it sounds cool when I'm playing. That said, I wrote my own review on this game, but it's a pretty crappy review. I didn't even think about the score issue, albeit I was aware of it before I wrote my review. The only thing I can understand when writing and proofing is making sure it grammatically makes sense.

I still think it doesn't take away from the fun when I can't keep my score and I have to re-enter initials and ship color. I don't like doing it every time, but I still have a great time every time because the game is so fun. 7/10 is typically mediocre, but in this case, it's a pretty good 7/10. The game has some issues which may turn people off, but it's not anything that destroys the gameplay and the fun factor.

Just downloaded last night (after deleting 6 other games-need hard drive) it is a visual feast and is a great pick up and play. Good score and since High Voltage is really working on the Wii with this and things like the Conduit I am all about supporting their efforts.. Good job guy.....

@ Wiirocks - I started using "ACE" in 1980 on Asteroids. I guess it just stuck with me. I always had people asking me why I put that into the high scores.

@SuperMario - It's not so much about hype as it is two completely different games. They both feature the same type of game play over and over again, but they feel very different in terms of their execution and visual stylings. While there's no time limit in Gyrostarr, it's still basically the same thing repeated over and over again with a gradual increase in difficulty. They're both fun, but to me Star Soldier R is just more of the standard type of shooter experience I prefer.

Well Corbie, if you gave Star Soldier an 8 we wouldn't be having this discussion. But with online rankings, I think Star Soldier encourages people to come back for more. So I guess I'll download that instead of Gyrostarr.Plus, SSR takes up less space.

Gyrostarr has an interesting combo system, it builds up slow but once you get it to 5x on everything, and set up smart shots and clear house with the bombs, it's pretty exciting, the more I play gyrostarr the more i like it, it could definetly benefit from ranking that makes sense and individual player profiles though

Is anyone here registered to gamerankings.com so this can be put on their website? I wish I could register but they have had that option disabled for like a year now. Worth submitting for sure, along with all the other reviews if they haven't been yet.

Great review, Corbie! The price is definitely right, but at the high block size (290?!?) I can't really bring myself to delete Toki Tori or My Life as a King for it.. My fear about this game was always that the gameplay would get repetitive

I just got this game, and I must say! You were WAY too kind to it, Corbie.

I'm on Level 8 already, and it's been total dulls-ville from the beginning. Tempest, it is not. Nor is it much of a shmup. And any feeling of speed the game CAN produce is lost by the fact that you're not moving that fast most of the time. Only the bonus levels are fast, and then they just sort of whip you around in an attempt to disorient you. (Honestly, a loop-de-loop would have been cool. Too bad no one thought of that.)

The other thing that throws off the sense of speed is the fact that nothing is glued to the track. Everything just slides along at its own pace, with no sense that it's actually moving. As a result, the track ends up being little more than eye-candy. Which is another frustrating aspect. WTF is up with the swirling clouds under the track? I understand they kind of look cool, but they don't fit with the rest of the graphics. All they end up doing is muddying up the screen so you have an even harder time seeing the poorly detailed enemies.

Don't even get me started on the motion controls. Why include them if they don't work? I mean, sure, your ship moves side to side. But it's all so clunky that it's absolutely useless as a control scheme. I couldn't even get past the first level. Which is pretty sad given the difficulty curve or lack thereof.

I hate being critical of a game, but I simply can't recommend this. It feels like the type of game you could download for free off of sourceforge or some-such. It has all the gameplay of an Atari 2600 game, with none of the low-resolution charm.

I'm starting to think that HVS might be on the right track with trying to create engines for the Wii. If they set themselves up in the same market as Id and Epic, they could do quite well for themselves by making other games look good. Which is good, because I'm not seeing any sign that they have the creative spark necessary to make a REALLY FUN game.

(Apologies to any HVS employees who might be reading this. Great Jeff Minter-eqse graphics, just really dull gameplay.)

Wow, the opinions of this game have been extremely varied. From absolutely fantastic to completely dull. Shows you how different people's tastes are. You need to get to level 30+ to see some real intensity, but even then it's still basically just more of the same. Just a lot more of it.

Ok... i played till level 23, died, and chose not to restart the level. The next time i went to play, it didn't save the level i was on. What gives ??? Do you have to choose quit game instead (from the pause menu) in order for it to save the last played level ? Or... do you have to start over every time ?

my friends and i were all psyched up for this game, and when we started the first level we dropped our controllers and laughed. if anyone here owns a 360 and has ever played Yaris(which is free) then you'll know why we did... at least it has decent music and graphics.

Horrible horrible game. I really wanted to like it. The graphics are great and I had pretty high expectations.

But the gameplay sucks badly. First of all, it's way too easy. I played through like 20 levels without my ship being destroyed for one time. That's a total no-no for a shooter. It's harder to die than to reach the end of the level. Shooters have to be intense, hard and compelling from the beginning. Second of all, the limited movement of both your ship and the enemies make the gameplay really one dimensional. All you and your enemies do, is moving from left to right and vice-versa. So there are no bulletpatterns or whatsoever to dodge. The shooting is also horrible. The standard cannon can shoot like 3 bullets at the same time onscreen and the powerups only work for a limited time opposed to working until you get hit.

The engine is great, but they should've turned this game into a futuristic racing game like X-Treme G or F-Zero.

This game deserves a 4/10. SSR definitely deverses at least an 8, maybe even a 9. If you give both these games a 7, you don't know what you're talking about and then you don't have any feeling/interest for shooters in general.

@BigKing - You might not agree with the review but honestly if you knew Corbie you wouldn't question his knowledge of the shmup genre. He lives and breathes them so is more qualified than most to give his verdict on shooters. You would be hard pushed to find a shmup which he hasn't played.

The truth is SSR and Gyrostarr are both very different games. Personally I prefer SSR too, it conforms to the traditional bullet hell shmup which I am used to. Gyrostarr is more of a Zaxxon/Tempest style game. Very different in concept.

It's not even close to a great game like tempest, which was released about 14 years ago. The gameplay is cheap. Only way it gets harder is by adding more enemies on screen which you can't blast away with your crappy standard gun. You don't get rewards for higher scores, there are no need to perfect your skills or whatsoever. That's what great shooters are all about, insight, reflexes and perfecting your skills. None of these things can be found in Gyrostarr.In Gyrostarr you can be hit three times before you die, but there are energy-powerups everywhere, making it almost impossible to die. The only thing that is great are the graphics(well except your own ship and the enemies), but this game could be made in 2D. With slow and dumb enemies coming from the top on the screen towards your ship. It would be a cheap Space Invaders clone with less enemies.

I haven't been able to play GS more than once simply because I'm focusing on SSR right now and I'm really excited to try another Bonus Stage in GS (I think I'm only on stage 3/4). It does start slow, though, I agree. But I'm sure the pace increases as is the case with most games.

I can't get into Gyrostarr. I would not describe the graphics as "outstanding", although I am probably in the minority with that opinion. For me, the game started getting old during the very first level. The gameplay is boring, just not into the game. Game should have been 500 points.Controlling your vehicle is very limited, you just move left and right. Yay.

I tried to be fair to the game and look at it from an unbiased viewpoint instead of looking at it strictly as a shooter fan. The game has some nice visuals and some solid game play. I mentioned in the review what the actual shortcomings in the game play were and the fact that the game is pretty much the same thing wave after wave. But the game only costs 700 Wii Points and it has enough redeeming qualities to justify a 7/10. As you've seen on here and other message boards around the internet, many people thought it deserved a higher score and many thought it deserved a lower score. While a review has some factual information in it, for the most part, it's still opinion.

i was playing this again lastnight, and as I was shooting my blaster (upgrades or no upgrades doesn't matter) I was watching how the blast follows along the path you shoot it in, so you can hit enemies around corners and stuff, it's pretty cool looking, but anyway, I really think this game has no reason to be compared to SSR.

SSR is a competitive shooter, this is simply a game to pass the time, you're never going to see gyrostarr tournaments, it was just meant to be entertaining and to do so at a good price.

@theberrage - We are working on features in the background which will go much further than just user scores, but it is all tied into the same system. Sorry it will be a while away yet, but we haven't forgotton about it!

SSR is supposed to be repetitive. It's a scored-based shooter, the idea is to play over and over to better your score. Gyrostarr is level-based, the idea is to defeat every level. But when most of the levels are the same, Gyrostarr becomes repetitive. Don't you think Hudson knew SSR was repetitive when they shipped the game with only 2 levels? Thats why they added online scores, to give players an incentive to come back and try to better their score.

With that said, Corbie, I'm sure I'll enjoy SSR, and it'd be too much work to delete games for Gyrostarr anyway. Plus, by exchanging friend codes, you'd become another victim of all those congratulatory messages I get from Mario Kart.

I agree SuperMario. I too just had to clean house on the Wii to make room for upcoming games. And good point about the friends codes. I'm rather anti-social online. Xbox Live I have one friend. Wii I have one friend.

The lack of a time limit does give the game a much broader scope and the feeling of being a more "complete" game. That being said, the quality of what's in Star Soldier R, be it as little as there is, is above and beyond what's found in Gyrostarr. It would be tough to say if it's a game to buy for you Radretrogamer. The opinions of this game are all over the map. Some love it, some like it, and some hate it. Do you have a coin handy?

Just picked this one up today, and I'm sorta imperessed. 290 blocks was way too high, I had to delete my first game to download this. The graphics are nice, but when it goes really fast, its hard to tell whats going on. Solid gameplay as well, but there is no rapid fire. Like the music

@Radretrogamer - Gyrostarr does not compare to DYC. DYC had upgrades to purchase, strategies to follow, and new characters to battle as you went along. It also ramped up the challenge at a fairly decent pace, making it easy to die if you failed in your strategies or simply didn't have a fast enough throwing arm.

Gyrostarr has none of that appeal. Every level plays the same: Grab the glowy white things. Maybe shoot some non-descript "bad guys". Or maybe even a wall. (Which suspiciously appears to be moving forward on the track?) The graphics are kind of cool, but there really isn't much else to it. The weapons feel pretty generic, the bad guys feel generic, the tracks feel generic, etc, etc, etc.

The only downside is that you can't use the D-Pad on the Classic Controller, you have to use the analog sticks. I was all set to use my Super Famicom Classic Controller on the game and it doesn't work.

Well Corbie, your 700 points are safe. I finally took the plunge and downloaded SSR, and it's pretty good. The 2 and 5 minutes modes are enough for me since it has online rankings.Unfortunately I suck beyond belief, (745,000- 2 min. and 1,063,000- 5 min.) so I'll have to put some time into getting better. But to download SSR I had to delete something...So R.I.P Super Mario 64.

@ SuperMario - Glad you liked it alright. It does take some practice, but you'll be surprised at how quickly you can get your scores up. I had to get rid of Paper Mario to grab Gyrostarr. Needless to say, Paper Mario has been restored to grace.

@ Mr. Cheez - Animales de la Muerte is probably the one WiiWare title I'm most excited about. Maybe Daz will be feeling generous at the time and let me review it.

@ Corbie- You better not give Animales de la Muerte a 7...But you deleted Paper Mario? In my opinion, that's the best RPG ever. Every other game would get deleted before I gave up Paper Mario.I really like SSR though, it's better than I thought it'd be. I've played it for almost 2 hours already.

@the wiirocks- Thanks, and that video helps a lot.Actually I just got 854,200 in the 2 min. So I'm steadily getting better. I'm really happy I downloaded this game though, so nice call Corbie.

I only deleted Paper Mario because I know it's a game that I probably won't have time to play through anytime soon. I decided to put it back on the Wii in the hopes that I'll keep seeing it and eventually make some time to play it.

And if you like the Star Soldier R, you might consider grabbing Soldier Blade on the TG16 section of the Virtual Console. It is the full game, but it also has the timed mode on it. Of the three Star Soldier titles for the TG16 and PC Engine, it's the one I think is the best overall. Just a suggestion.

@ CorbieI actually picked up Soldier Blade after playing Star Soldier. I still like SSR 2/5 minute modes better, but I enjoy Soldier Blade for the full campaign mode. They are both good, but if somone is starting out you can't go wrong with Lords of Thunder.

People knock SSR for not having a full campaign mode, but for what it does offer is actually very addicitive gameplay, great music and nice visuals!

I didn't mention Gate of Thunder and Lords of Thunder because they were horizontal shooters and neither have the timed caravan mode. But who can argue with that suggestion. Gate of Thunder and Lords of Thunder are two of the greatest shooters ever created by human hands.

I bought it and have been having a good time with it. I didn't like the control at first, but I see now that they work. The mechanics of the game are pretty cool, and the graphics are very nice. I think it was worth the 7 dollars.

I own almost 200 of them including some very rare arcade boards like R-Type Leo. Many are for the PC Engine and Sega Saturn. Those would have to be two of the most treasured consoles as far as shooters go. I've always been a shooter nut since the days of Defender and Galaga. Of course I'm also a sucker for 16-bit era RPGs as well.

Well I've been building this collection since 1981. I hardly ever sell anything I buy that's video game related. I still have my original Atari 2600 system I got when I was in the 5th grade during Christmas 1981.

Sure I do. I don't spend a lot of time with the pre-1984 systems anymore. Every so often I'll drag out the Atari 2600 or Colecovision and run through a few games. I spend most of my time playing SNES and PC Engine games when I'm not reviewing a game for these sites.

Gyrostarr is a decent single player experience (playing through a couple levels each day is quite enjoyable), but it's the multiplayer where this game really shines. It's pure pandemonium in some of the later levels with two players, let alone FOUR. Plus, you get to duke it out for score to see who has ace shooting bragging rights.

Not a great game, but a good one. By no means unenjoyable, especially with a pack of gaming buddies.

Gyrostarr is like the Gauntlet of shooters. Its pretty good as a single player but multiplayer is much better. I enjoyed the power ups as well. I find myself playing a few levels and then stopping. My thumb started to cramp at the button tapping:(

In any case, I did like this game quite a lot. I'll admit I haven't played a lot of shooters, and I still think Star Soldier R is better, it's still a fun game, and the speed of the bonus stages reminds me of racing games, so it's pretty exciting to me. As for multiplayer, it's better to play with people who know what they're doing, because I've only got a chance to play it with my moms boyfriend, and he hasn't played a game since the Atari 2600, and it wasn't as fun as playing by myself. Mybrother won't play with me anymore, but hopefully I can convince him, and it will be a better experience than last time.

Well, after sitting down with the singleplayer for a good long while, I finally got into the meat of things, and I can definately say it was enjoyable. The game has a smoother difficulty curve than I'm used to, but once things started getting challenging, I was really enjoying myself. Also, I started treating it like Star Soldier R and started concentrating on my score, which led to quite a few brushes with death(in the game anyways). All-in-all, I had a much more enjoyable time than last I wrote, and I haven't even had a worthy partner in multiplayer yet. I'm happy I got this game!

I think I'll hold off on getting any shmups until Gradius Rebirth comes out. These games don't look like they'd hold my interest. Star Soldier R had me very excited til I found out it was only the caravan mode... boo Hudson.